The invention relates to capsules or containers for preparing beverages in automatic dispensing machines, in particular relating to a sealed single-dose and disposable capsule containing a percolatable or soluble or infusion product that is able to make a final product, for example a beverage by interacting with a pressurised fluid, typically water or milk.
Known capsules for use in known dispensing machines are disposable and single-dose containers including an external casing that is made of synthetic plastics and impermeable to liquids and gases and has a glass or cup shape. In particular, the casing has a bottom wall and a side wall defining a cavity provided with an upper opening through which the product can be inserted from which to obtain the beverage. The upper opening is hermetically closed by a cover, typically an aluminium sheet or a film of synthetic plastics in order to seal the product inside the cavity of the container. The capsule is perforable to enable the inflow of pressurized liquid, typically water, and the exit of the obtained beverage. In particular, the cover and the bottom wall of the casing are perforable by a suitable device of the dispensing machine, to enable the pressurized liquid to be delivered from above and the beverage to be extracted from below, respectively.
One drawback of the known capsules disclosed above lies in the fact that they can only be used in dispensing machines provided with a dispensing circuit including an extracting device suitable for piercing the bottom of the capsules to enable the beverage to exit and a conduit suitable for conveying the beverage to the consumption container (for example a mug, a cup, a glass, etc). This dispensing circuit makes the structure of the machine more complex and costly. Further, since it is in contact with the dispensed beverages, it should be properly washed after each dispensing, both for hygienic reasons and in order not to compromise the taste and quality (organoleptic properties) of a subsequently dispensed beverage (for example an aromatic herbal tea dispensed after a coffee). Nevertheless, a washing device of the dispensing circuit is not always present in known machines because of difficulty in construction and added costs.
Known dispensing machines further include a supply circuit provided with injection devices (such as needles or sharpened nozzles) that pierce the cover and deliver the pressurized liquid originating from a pump and/or a boiler.
Capsules are also known that are provided with a filtering element that is inserted inside the external casing to enable the fluid or beverage to pass and prevents the exit of the product if it is not soluble.
With the capsules provided with filtering elements on the bottom wall, the extracting device is not required in the dispensing machine since the beverage leaving the capsule can be poured directly into a consumption container.
The aforesaid capsules nevertheless have the drawback of not hermetically closing the product, owing to the filtering element on the bottom, and therefore for hygienic and product conservation reasons they have to be suitably packaged, for example in sealed bags, preferably in a controlled atmosphere, with a consequent further increase in production costs.
Known capsules provided with a filtering element enable beverages to be obtained by percolation of the liquid through the product (typically coffee) or by infusion of the product (tea, herbal tea etc).